Defense: Bell, Calif., officials worked tirelessly

By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent
| 5:09 p.m.Jan. 24, 2013

Former Bell, Calif. mayor Oscar Hernandez listens to opening statements in a massive city corruption trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The former mayor and vice mayor and four former city council members of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell are charged with misappropriation of public funds in a plot to line their own pockets at the expense of citizens. Those on trial are Hernandez, former vice mayor Teresa Jacobo, and former council members, George Mirabal, George Cole, Victor Bello and Luis Artiga. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan, Pool)
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Former Bell, Calif. mayor Oscar Hernandez listens to opening statements in a massive city corruption trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The former mayor and vice mayor and four former city council members of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell are charged with misappropriation of public funds in a plot to line their own pockets at the expense of citizens. Those on trial are Hernandez, former vice mayor Teresa Jacobo, and former council members, George Mirabal, George Cole, Victor Bello and Luis Artiga. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan, Pool)
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Deputy district attorney Edward Miller gives his opening statement in a massive city corruption trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The former mayor and vice mayor and four former city council members of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell, Calif., are charged with misappropriation of public funds in a plot to line their own pockets at the expense of citizens. Those on trial are former Mayor Oscar Hernandez, former vice mayor Teresa Jacobo, and former council members, George Mirabal, George Cole, Victor Bello and Luis Artiga. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan, Pool)— AP

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Deputy district attorney Edward Miller gives his opening statement in a massive city corruption trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The former mayor and vice mayor and four former city council members of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell, Calif., are charged with misappropriation of public funds in a plot to line their own pockets at the expense of citizens. Those on trial are former Mayor Oscar Hernandez, former vice mayor Teresa Jacobo, and former council members, George Mirabal, George Cole, Victor Bello and Luis Artiga. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan, Pool)
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Defendant Luis Artiga listens to opening statements in a massive city corruption trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The former mayor and vice mayor and four former city council members of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell, Calif., are charged with misappropriation of public funds in a plot to line their own pockets at the expense of citizens. Those on trial are former Mayor Oscar Hernandez, former vice mayor Teresa Jacobo, and former council members Artiga and George Mirabal, George Cole, and Victor Bello. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan, Pool)— AP

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Defendant Luis Artiga listens to opening statements in a massive city corruption trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The former mayor and vice mayor and four former city council members of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell, Calif., are charged with misappropriation of public funds in a plot to line their own pockets at the expense of citizens. Those on trial are former Mayor Oscar Hernandez, former vice mayor Teresa Jacobo, and former council members Artiga and George Mirabal, George Cole, and Victor Bello. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan, Pool)
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Defendant George Cole, right, listens to opening statements in a massive city corruption trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The former mayor and vice mayor and four former city council members of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell, Calif., are charged with misappropriation of public funds in a plot to line their own pockets at the expense of citizens. Those on trial are former Mayor Oscar Hernandez, former vice mayor Teresa Jacobo, left front, and former council members, George Mirabal, left rear, Cole, Victor Bello and Luis Artiga. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan, Pool)— AP

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Defendant George Cole, right, listens to opening statements in a massive city corruption trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The former mayor and vice mayor and four former city council members of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell, Calif., are charged with misappropriation of public funds in a plot to line their own pockets at the expense of citizens. Those on trial are former Mayor Oscar Hernandez, former vice mayor Teresa Jacobo, left front, and former council members, George Mirabal, left rear, Cole, Victor Bello and Luis Artiga. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan, Pool)
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Defendant Victor Bello listens to opening statements in a massive city corruption trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The former mayor and vice mayor and four former city council members of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell, Calif., are charged with misappropriation of public funds in a plot to line their own pockets at the expense of citizens. Those on trial are former Mayor Oscar Hernandez, former vice mayor Teresa Jacobo, and former council members, George Mirabal, George Cole, Bello and Luis Artiga. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan, Pool)— AP

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Defendant Victor Bello listens to opening statements in a massive city corruption trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The former mayor and vice mayor and four former city council members of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell, Calif., are charged with misappropriation of public funds in a plot to line their own pockets at the expense of citizens. Those on trial are former Mayor Oscar Hernandez, former vice mayor Teresa Jacobo, and former council members, George Mirabal, George Cole, Bello and Luis Artiga. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan, Pool)
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Former Bell, Calif. vice mayor Teresa Jacobo listens opening statements in a massive city corruption trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The former mayor and vice mayor and four former city council members of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell are charged with misappropriation of public funds in a plot to line their own pockets at the expense of citizens. Those on trial are former Mayor Oscar Hernandez, former vice mayor Jacobo, and former council members George Mirabal, George Cole, Victor Bello and Luis Artiga. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan, Pool)— AP

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Former Bell, Calif. vice mayor Teresa Jacobo listens opening statements in a massive city corruption trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The former mayor and vice mayor and four former city council members of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell are charged with misappropriation of public funds in a plot to line their own pockets at the expense of citizens. Those on trial are former Mayor Oscar Hernandez, former vice mayor Jacobo, and former council members George Mirabal, George Cole, Victor Bello and Luis Artiga. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan, Pool)
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Former Bell, Calif. council member George Mirabal listens to opening statements in a massive city corruption trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The former mayor and vice mayor and four former city council members of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell are charged with misappropriation of public funds in a plot to line their own pockets at the expense of citizens. Those on trial are former Mayor Oscar Hernandez, former vice mayor Teresa Jacobo, and former council members Mirabal, George Cole, Victor Bello and Luis Artiga.(AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan, Pool)— AP

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Former Bell, Calif. council member George Mirabal listens to opening statements in a massive city corruption trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The former mayor and vice mayor and four former city council members of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell are charged with misappropriation of public funds in a plot to line their own pockets at the expense of citizens. Those on trial are former Mayor Oscar Hernandez, former vice mayor Teresa Jacobo, and former council members Mirabal, George Cole, Victor Bello and Luis Artiga.(AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Irfan Khan, Pool)
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LOS ANGELES 
A half dozen former officials of a scandal-ridden California city have heard a prosecutor paint them as thieves. But their lawyers say they were tireless workers for the good of the city of Bell.

Defense attorneys said Thursday that their clients are being wrongly blamed for the misdeeds of a city manager who ripped off the city treasury.

A lawyer for former mayor Oscar Hernandez said he was illiterate in English and was tricked by City Manager Robert Rizzo into signing documents including those that gave city council members huge salaries.

Lawyers also blamed the city attorney for failing to tell the officials their salaries might be illegal.

A prosecutor said they knew what they were doing when they allegedly bilked their small town treasury of more than $1.3 million.

All six are charged with misappropriation of public funds.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

With six former city officials lined up in chairs behind him, a Los Angeles County prosecutor portrayed them Thursday as thieves who bilked their small town treasury for over $1.3 million, paying themselves for work they did not do.

In one instance, the defendants stole more than $300,000 during a two-minute meeting in which they voted themselves salary raises for sham positions on commissions that did nothing, said Deputy district Attorney Edward Miller.

"The evidence will show the defendants stole over $1.3 million," he said.

Running through the list of meetings that lasted a few minutes each, Miller said, "They worked less hours than my opening statement will take this morning."

Legally, he said, the officials could have paid themselves $673 a month for what was a part-time job since they did not actually run the city. The blue collar suburb of Los Angeles was managed by Robert Rizzo, who stands trial later in the year with his assistant city manager on allegations he misappropriated millions.

In addition to their council salaries of upward of $80,000 a year, the officials collected payment for sitting on the boards of four sham commissions that did no work, Miller said.

He alleged a pattern of scams in which the defendants appointed each other to the commissions that did nothing, held meetings that sometimes lasted only two minutes, and often met yearly just to increase their salaries.

The most blatant, he said, was creation of the Solid Waste and Recycling Authority, which he called "a fiction" designed to line the officials' pockets.

"They gave themselves raises which were not even drafted by a lawyer. Somebody just made this up out of the blue," Miller said.

The former mayor, vice mayor and four City Council members are charged with misappropriation of public funds. All but one of the defendants served as mayor at some point.

Prosecutors said the city treasury was looted to the tune of $5.5 million and the modest city of Bell was driven to the brink of bankruptcy.

Miller said the yearlong scam thrived because few people every attended City Council meetings to keep watch on their elected leaders. At one meeting, 12 people were in the audience and most were relatives of the council members, he said.

Those now on trial are former Mayor Oscar Hernandez, former vice mayor Teresa Jacobo and former council members George Mirabal, George Cole, Victor Bello and Luis Artiga.

Their lawyers were to speak later in the day and were expected to argue that they were upstanding citizens who worked hard for the city.

The six are charged in a 20-count felony complaint accusing them of paying themselves exorbitant salaries and setting up sham commissions.

Miller said the alleged wrongdoing was discovered in 2008 when Roger Ramirez, a citizen who attended council meetings regularly, heard that Rizzo was being paid $400,000 a year and council members were being paid $80,000. He asked for an accounting and despite efforts by Rizzo to avoid the revelations, they became public.

Outraged residents who had seen their taxes and fees go up turned out by the thousands to protest when the scandal broke. They held a successful recall election and threw out the entire council.